The Vanguard
by animusnox
Summary: AU. Among those that newly revived Commander John Shepard has been recruiting for his team to bring to the battle against the Collectors is a man named Jason Sterling. The story follows his experiences with the team. Jason/Miranda & Shep/Jack
1. Chapter One

AU. Among those that newly revived Commander John Shepard has been recruiting for his team to bring to the battle against the Collectors is a man named Jason Sterling. The story follows his experiences with the team and their fight for the lost.

Commander Shepard - Spacer/War Hero/Infiltrator

Note: I do not own Mass Effect or Bioware, and I greatly anticipate ME3.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter One<strong>_

"Damn it!" Jason growled as he dove for cover, generating a cloud of dust along with him. Long past running out of thermal clips for his M-3 Predator heavy pistol, he roared as he raised his arms and flung them forward to initiate a series of explosive biotic impacts in front of him, throwing several of his assailants into the air for lying in its path.

It had been late in the afternoon when the surprise attack had occurred, though it was hard to tell with Omega's unchanging ominous atmosphere from the absence of any nearby suns. _I fucking hate Omega._ His presence on the mined-out husk of an asteroid was intended to be brief and discreet while he undertook some jobs for whatever mercenary group that hired him.

Temporarily exposed while he moved out from his cover, he winced as his left hand automatically shot up to apply pressure on the injury; a merc's shot had grazed his right arm, tearing through skin, muscle, and nerves. He looked down at his ripped, bloodied clothing consisting of the remains of a black tank top and faded jeans. Growling, he grimaced when he pressed more on his wounded arm, which bled profusely as dark red lines trailed down along his right arm. _A bit underdressed for a gunfight. _He reprimanded himself in his head for his lack of foresight, which his mentor had always advised him to have.

Looking over from behind a crate that was currently providing him protection, he saw a merc starting to rise. Jason swiftly got up on his feet and lunged forward; his biotics engulfed him in the customary electric blue glow and crashed him into his target. Upon collision, the merc was sent flying into the metal column behind him, instantaneously knocking him out.

He ran up to the battered merc as he ignored the severe pain from his injured arm that was a consequence for using his biotics even though he was hurt, and he snapped the unconscious man's neck for good measure, finding the sound sickening as it reached his ears. He took notice of the yellow armor the man was in; an outline of a sun with a large 'E' was emblazoned on the chest plate. _Why in the hell did Eclipse ever pick yellow as their color?_ As his vision began to blur, he remembered why he went up to the Eclipse merc's body in the first place. _Medi-gel, medi-gel, medi... There you are. _Taking the bright red box from the merc's person, he scooped a handful of the transparent salve to rub onto his wound.

The bleeding instantly began to cease and the pain dulled as the medi-gel achieved its purpose. Clenching his jaw tightly, he took in several more shots from the mercs, hurriedly patting out the fire that had originated from the incendiary ammo the opposition had started to use. Feeling exceptionally crossed, he focused on his biotics once more which resulted to an Eclipse heavy hurling into a trooper, picking up a few of the dropped thermal clips to reload his heavy pistol with. _Those damn incendiary shots hurt_, he thought as he promptly applied the last of the medi-gel onto his burn wounds that were quite visible through his shredded, recently burned clothing as well as pinch off the singed ends of his unkempt dark brown hair and untamed beard.

After hearing a break in the fire, Jason began to weave from cover to cover at the same time as he delivered accurate shots onto his marks until finally, there was no one left against him. Sadly, his victory was short-lived once he became aware of the sudden appearance of batarian and turian mercenaries closing in on him with their weapons drawn.

"Aria wants to see you." One of the batarians stated brusquely, seizing the heavy pistol from his hands; Jason recognized him as Moklan, one of Aria's various hired guards.

"What does she want with me?" He asked before he was sandwiched between another two of Aria's mercenaries, a turian and a batarian equally armored as Moklan in terms of style and strength, as they forced him to go along with them. Seeing as that he was outnumbered and weaponless, he was left no other choice but to comply given that he wasn't wearing his armor and shields that would be valuable in protecting him from the gunfire that would most likely come from the heavily armed mercs if he attempted an escape.

"You'll find out once we've brought you to her." Moklan replied while he headed the group of mercs that enclosed him in the middle forward.

It took less than a couple of minutes to approach the entrance to the Afterlife Nightclub where an elcor bouncer kept order in the line for the club. Once the batarian usher took notice of Moklan leading the group, he allowed them entrance to Afterlife, inciting the irritation of a human in line. "Come on, let me in. Aria is expecting me. Ugh."

Jason barely heard the elcor bouncer's monotone response as his captors urged him forward. "Annoyed: If she were expecting you, you would already be inside."

He hadn't even been on Omega long enough to cause any trouble. _What does Aria want?_ Although unwritten, he had easily caught on to the only rule of lawless Omega: don't fuck with Aria.

Being it was his first time inside Afterlife, he took note of his surroundings, looking over the heads of the mercs whom encircled him. Past the long hallway that had screens on each side displaying flames, they entered through some doors with a sign that displayed the club's name. The loud music pulsated throughout his body as he was moved onward. Above the large circular opening in the center of the floor, there were asari dancers performing on a large ring suspended from the ceiling that encircled a large purple holographic cylinder showing clips of asari dancing that extended all the way to the ceiling. The outer edge of the floor contained booths in which most of the regulars of the club seemed to spend their time. Aria T'Loak's mercenaries, however, were not taking him to a booth; they were leading him towards the back.

Passing by a turian bodyguard, they went up a few stairs to what Jason supposed was Aria's private lounge; it sported a balcony that provided a complete view of the floor below it. He noticed he wasn't Aria's only visitor; there were three others, but he couldn't catch a glimpse of them from how one was sitting down with Omega's de facto ruler while the two others were in the back of the lounge, all hidden from his view.

"Jason Sterling," Aria stood up from her seat while she motioned to her guards to release him. "You work for the Shadow Broker, don't you?" Along with her accusation, she narrowed the distance between them, and without warning, she wrapped her blue hand around his neck, slowly tightening her hold. She examined the individual in front of her, apparently searching for something that would incriminate him like she had with the other spies she had found of the Shadow Broker's.

Jason flexed his neck muscles, making it tougher for Aria's grip to increase, as he stared back into the emotionless eyes of the asari. He then proceeded to respond back with such a relaxed tone that it was as if Aria's hand was not around his neck at all. "I used to."

"Aria," A firm voice stated from behind the asari ruler of Omega. "I can take him off your hands." From his peripheral vision, he determined the one who had spoken as a man with a buzz cut in heavy armor, standing with his arms crossed beside Aria.

There was a long silence in the lounge in spite of the booming music playing throughout Afterlife along with the commotion of the club's patrons in the level below; releasing her grip, Aria, losing interest in him, indifferently waved her hand to signal her consent for Jason to be taken away.

Watching Aria return to her seat from earlier, he turned his head towards the man who had addressed her. He slightly furrowed his eyebrows upon recognizing the well-known hero equipped in N7 Armor of dark grey with maroon patterned on it. "Commander Shepard? I thought you died."

The man gave a responsive smile. "I got better." Scratching the back of his neck, Shepard said softly. "Can we go talk somewhere?"

_Commander Shepard: back from the dead. _His interest definitely piqued; Jason gestured for them to leave Aria's presence first. Knowing the commander and his companions would follow, he led them out of the nightclub. He stopped once he saw there was a fitting distance between them and Afterlife. "What exactly does the Hero of the Citadel want from me?"

"Entire colonies have been vanishing. So far, we've found out that the Collectors have been behind these sudden disappearances." Jason watched as Shepard explained; the man continued to give him direct eye-contact as he divulged the truth, not that Jason was even questioning what the commander was saying. "And I'm assembling a team to go after them; the best of the best. I want you to join us."

Jason thought while he ran his fingers through his currently grimy dark brown hair; the offer seemed much more decent than anything he would find on his own._ Well, I have nowhere else to be. _"Anything that gets me off this god-forsaken rock."

Shepard nodded before holding his hand out. "I'll take that as a yes. Welcome to the crew, Jason."

Ready to return the gesture and shake the commander's hand, Jason pulled away in the last second after realizing his entire person was presently covered in blood and filth. "Er, I doubt you want my blood on you so, uh, anywhere I can go to clean up?"

Shepard turned to one of his squad mates, a dark-skinned man with a serious face wearing a black bodysuit that had an insignia placed on the chest that Jason knew he had seen somewhere before. "Mind showing him to the Normandy, Jacob?"

As Jacob was about answer, a raven-haired beauty dressed in a form fitting black and white catsuit bearing a symbol similar to the one on Jacob's suit stepped forward to speak; Jason noted her Australian accent. _An Earthborn, maybe? _ "Shepard, we've finished recruiting Garrus, Professor Solus, and now Mr. Sterling. Needless to say, we have no other business here on Omega." Her tone was cool and professional with a hint of distaste at the end when she had spoken the word Omega.

_Cerberus…_ Recalling that he had seen the pro-human group's logo several times when he worked for the Shadow Broker, Jason asked, "You're working for Cerberus now?"

"I'm working _with_ them. I have no other choice; the Council refuses to listen and I can't stand by and wait for their politics when colonies are disappearing." The commander explained before pointing towards the docking bay. "The Normandy is docked there. Miranda's right. We don't have anything else to attend to here."

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><p>Entering the Communications Room, which was situated between the Armory and Research Lab on the second deck of the Normandy SR-2, Jason noticed that he wasn't the first to arrive. The ship's stern-faced XO stood as she intently studied a datapad by the large rectangular conference table that was in the middle of the room. He took position on the opposite side of the table and rested against the wall, closing his eyes as he managed his thoughts.<p>

_I'm on the Normandy SR-2 under the control of Commander Shepard; he's working along with Cerberus to put a stop to the vanishing act the Collectors are pulling on human colonies. _He believed that summed up what he had learned so far. _Ugh._ He slightly wrinkled his nose when he took in his odor. _I need to shower ASAP. I smell like Omega._

"Garrus, Mordin, Jason," Opening his eyes to the sound of his name being said, he found Shepard standing in front of the conference table. The man had changed out of his armor and into a crewman's uniform with the Cerberus emblem on the sleeve. Jacob, a salarian, and a turian also had joined them. "How do you like the Normandy?"

The injured turian spoke with a distinctive flanging effect in his voice, "It's quite big, Shepard. It almost seems like you're trying to make up for something." Jason studied the various degrees of damage on the blue turian ceramic-tiled heavy armor, including a chunk of the armor's collar that seemed to have been blasted off; a quarter of his face on the right side had been badly damaged as well, replaced by a bandage/artificial graft from what he could detect.

Shepard smiled and shook his head at his friend's joke, "Not at all, Garrus." He then addressed the salarian busy with adjusting his omni-tool. "Mordin, we need you to take a look at Collector samples we found on Freedom's Progress. We need a countermeasure for the seeker swarms."

"Will need lab to study samples in." The salarian replied quickly with a terse nod of his head; his face had several scars and one of his horns appeared to have been cut off. _Must be the Professor Solus Miranda had mentioned,_ he thought.

Jacob waved for the salarian doctor to follow, "If you would come with me, Professor. The lab is on the starboard side of the ship and if you find anything lacking, you can place an acquisition order." Mordin walked beside him while they discussed more about the Normandy's lab; the door secured itself closed after they exited the room.

"Well, Shepard, I'll be in the Main Battery." The turian stated before he excused himself, leaving the commander with the silent XO and the latest addition to the crew.

"I must say," Shepard started as he took in Jason's shredded clothing and dirt/blood smeared face. "You look like shit."

Shrugging, he gave a faint smile. "I've seen worse. Does the Normandy have any spare clothing?"

Miranda set down the datapad she had been reading so thoroughly to address him. "There are some additional crewman uniforms held in the medical bay. Doctor Chakwas would be more than helpful with the treatment of your injuries."

"I agree with Miranda's suggestion. Get your wounds checked and yourself cleaned up. With that settled, I'll be in my cabin if anyone needs me. We've got another long day tomorrow." The commander smiled amiably at his XO and the newest squadmate before strolling out of the room to mark the end of the briefing.

A second or two later, Jason started to leave when Miranda spoke to him once again, causing him to stop so he could hear what she had to say. "Mr. Sterling, the Illusive Man would like to talk to you. Please return here after visiting the Med-Bay and the showers."

"Gotcha." He responded with light enthusiasm; finding that he had nothing else to say to the woman, he proceeded to leave the Communications Room.

Reaching the elevator in the Combat Information Center, he used his omni-tool to activate it and instructed it to take him down a level. He contemplated back to a year ago as he waited to be brought to his destination, scratching at an itch his beard was giving him. _How long have I been on the run? It's been a year, right? _He knew he had been on Omega for about a week. His disagreement with his boss had left him no choice but to leave and go into hiding since he had knowledge of plans and miscellaneous others that the infamous Shadow Broker preferred to keep confidential; though he had answered directly to the broker, he was still the far opposite of indispensible.

_Oh._ Jason found himself staring the floor with the doors of the elevator having already opened for him, awaiting his exit. Veering left, he walked along the path that led him to the medical bay. He noticed the mess hall was behind the elevator; it was basically empty with the exception of a balding man absorbed in cleaning the kitchen.

Hearing the door unlock, the doctor spun her chair around to view her visitor. She immediately stood up and urged him to one of the beds. "Sit," she ordered as she went to obtain a unit of medi-gel from her desk in case it was needed.

Jason watched the older woman use her omni-tool to scan his body, checking for any abnormalities. Satisfied, she turned her attention to him.

"You're honestly quite healthy. I'm assuming you fought without your armor and got hit with several incendiary shots. Goodness." Doctor Chakwas shook her head and handed her patient the medi-gel while examining the results of his scan. "At least you're a biotic, judging from the L5n implants."

Turning back to him, she said resolutely in her English accent. "The laceration on your right arm is a bit severe since the slug had torn through muscle as well as nerves, but the blood has clotted nicely since you put medi-gel on it immediately. It'll heal on its own, but… it might hurt like hell depending on your pain tolerance. The medi-gel I gave you is if you can't handle it; I'm certain you can, but it's there for you just in case. Oh, and I'll give you an extra crewman uniform, dear."

"May I have a - " He stopped when he noticed the razor included on top of the clothes he was handed along with other necessary shower necessities; he gave her his thanks.

"Men's restroom is on the port side of the ship…" The doctor stopped to allow her patient to give her his name.

"Jason Sterling. You can call me Jason."

"Jason. I'm Doctor Chakwas and welcome to the Normandy," She smiled warmly as she said his name.

"Thanks again, doc." Watching the doctor return to her desk, he moved out of the Med-Bay and towards the restroom. The doctor reminded him of someone he knew minus the accent.

The mess hall was now completely empty as he passed it; the cook probably left to get some rest which Jason lacked at the moment. The lights were clearly much dimmer than before and he became conscious of how late it was in Galactic Standard Time once he checked his omni-tool.

He set his newly attained belongings into one of the sinks and stripped bare before entering the shower. The water was warm and comforting, not what he had been used to for the past year of laying low. As he washed himself, he felt the marks from the incendiary shots he had recently received mostly on the base of his left stomach. The bullet graze on his right arm was fine although the warm water caused it to sting since the anesthetic effect of the medi-gel he applied on it earlier was wearing off.

Jason turned the water off after he finished ridding himself from the distinct 'I've just been to Omega' feeling. He barely recognized himself once he stood in front of the mirror; the stranger was a bit darker from working minimum wage out in some colony as a farmhand a month ago on a planet that was graced with binary suns, leaner from days without food, and stronger from having to always fight off assailants single-handedly. He frowned at how scruffy he had gotten as he reached for the razor. _I look like a hermit._ He ran his fingers through his thick, long hair that reached down to his eyes; he didn't notice until now since his hair was had usually been held back by the mixture of sweat, grime, and the occasional blood that covered him. _Time for a haircut and shave._

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><p>Miranda, exhausted from spending the entire day along with Shepard and Jacob as they sought out to expand the team for their mission, struggled to stay awake as her eyelids grew heavier. To distract herself from the temptation to sleep, she started mull over the details of Jason Sterling's dossier the Illusive Man had sent her as a last minute addition to give to the commander. It was clear as to why he was needed on the team; he had been high in the ranks among the Shadow Broker's operatives, working from orders straight from the notorious information broker himself. The Illusive Man most likely desired the secrets Sterling had obtained from all the years he had worked under the Shadow Broker.<p>

She yawned as sleep started to slowly overcome her. Checking the time on her omni-tool, her irritation started to become visible on her face in the form of furrowed eyebrows; it was late and she wanted to sleep.

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><p>The door disengaged itself to allow his entry into the Communications Room. Jason couldn't stop himself as a low chuckle escaped once he saw the XO sleeping soundly on the floor. Running his fingers through his recently trimmed hair, he contemplated on what his next course of action would be.<p>

He cleared his throat before he softly said, "Ms. Lawson?" He watched in amusement when she looked at him through heavy eyelids then realized where she was, compelling her to promptly stand up.

"Mr. Sterling," Miranda acknowledged him, a little uncomfortable that he had found her snoozing on the floor. A faint blush became evident on her face as it contrasted against her fair skin.

While she gathered her thoughts, she regarded his fresh appearance. He held himself casually in his crisp crewman's uniform, though she took notice that he opted not to wear the shirt bearing Cerberus' insignia considering that he wore a plain black shirt in its place. His coffee-colored hair was cropped shorter on the sides contrasting with hair on the crown of his head which was long enough for it to give the impression of being tousled and his beard was now nonexistent. He possessed golden-brown skin uncommon for someone who had been wandering space; it caused his deep grey-blue eyes to stand out even more. Catching herself staring for an extended moment at the eyes of the man in front of her, she focused on the matter at hand whilst she chastised herself mentally for becoming distracted.

"EDI, commence linking us to the Illusive Man." Jason heard the XO direct a holographic floating blue sphere that instantaneously appeared as soon as it was referred to at a terminal placed beside him.

A synthetic voice responded, "Opening communications, Ms. Lawson."

He stared with a cocked eyebrow at the conference table retracting into the floor. With a nod from the XO, he stepped forward towards the middle of where the table had been; an orange holographic screen encircled him as the room darkened while he was scanned.

He found himself standing in front of the leader of Cerberus via hologram; the room he was in was relatively empty other than the lone seat the Illusive Man was in and the wall behind him was entirely a window which provided an awe-inspiring view of a dying star as its red-orange core slowly erupted and fused together with its turquoise-blue surface. The impeccably dressed man, who sported close-cropped sliver-grey hair and unique patterns on his 'steely blue' eyes which appeared to be prosthetic, inhaled deeply from his cigarette prior to puffing smoke, "Jason Sterling."

The older gentleman paused, observing the holographic form of the Shadow Broker's former right hand man. The corners of his mouth quirked up into a subtle grin brought about from deliberating the prospects of gaining Jason's loyalty for Cerberus.

"I'd like to officially welcome you onto the mission. Under Shepard's leadership, I'm sure our coinciding goals will be accomplished." He continued after another drag from his cigarette, tapping the excess ash into his seat's built-in ashtray. "I understand you have adroitly been eluding the Shadow Broker for the past year; regrettably, it won't be long until he finds you once word gets out of Shepard's return. And I'm here to offer you protection."

Jason stretched languidly, thinking over the Illusive Man's overture. _The bastard's obviously after the intelligence I have. _He stared straight into the pro-human radical's eyes, which looked ironically inhuman. "Tell you what. I'll give you a trial period of my services. One mission. If I like how Cerberus operates, I'll work under you."

"Those terms are acceptable." The Illusive Man responded with a more visible grin. "I'll have Miranda brief you once I find a suitable task for you. If you need anything, feel free to discuss it with Miranda. Cerberus looks out for their own."

With that last statement from Cerberus' head, the meeting was adjourned.

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><p>Please review! I'd like some thoughts about this ff. I have a bit of a writer's block at the moment so ideas for what you think will happen would be great.<p>

I'm doing my best to make this a well-written fanfic due to my love for the ME series.


	2. Chapter Two

I know that not a lot of people are reading this, but I still want to continue the story thus another chapter.

Note: I don't own Bioware or the Mass Effect series, but I'm going to preorder ME3 next month when I get enough cash.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Two<strong>_

_Something's off. _Jason Sterling thought as he walked along with the commander and his XO down one of the many hallways of the Blue Suns maximum security prison starship Purgatory. They temporarily stopped for Shepard whom decided to converse with some guards beating a prisoner; he claimed that they were lowering themselves down to the same level as the detainee.

He reflected back to the exchange between Commander Shepard and Warden Kuril, the turian warden of the prison ship. He remembered the lack of facial markings on the turian. _Barefaced…_ It was the term turians used to refer to an individual not to be trusted; his familiarity with the cultures of the known races was all thanks to receiving the Shadow Broker's thoroughly strict education in-between the numerous kill orders and additional covert assignments.

A prisoner called out to the commander as they made their way down the hall, pleading Shepard to buy him as well. When Miranda stated that they were there for Jack, fear became evident on the criminal's face as he backed away from the thick glass that held him inside his cell, his hands up in withdrawal. "Whoa, Jack? Forget what I said. I'm not going anywhere with that maniac."

"What do you know about Jack?" The commander asked, wanting to know more about the man he was to recruit; he hoped there would be something new for him to learn.

"A whole lot of crazy mixed up with the worst kind of violent urges and way too much biotic power. I'm not saying anything else." The prisoner replied before retreating further inside his cell, not wanting to be close to anyone who sought the psychopath.

Shepard nodded and moved on down the corridor. It matched what he had learned from the dossier the Illusive Man had sent him, though he was marginally disappointed with the absence of new information regarding Jack given to him by the prisoner.

The team proceeded to the outprocessing room where a technician had directed them. Once they made it to the far side of the room, the door they had entered through shut closed whilst the one in front of them opened. Jason frowned as his prediction about the warden became true.

Kuril's voice sounded over the intercom, "I'm sorry, Shepard. You're far too valuable as a prisoner than a customer. Drop your weapons and proceed to the open cell. You will not be harmed."

_Fucking knew it, _he thought as he automatically joined the XO in taking up their positions on opposite sides of the commander. The door slid open to admit a pack of Blue Sun mercs, weapons drawn as they flowed into the room. Shepard knelt down behind the protection of a desk as he retrieved his favored M-92 Mantis sniper rifle prior to activating his tactical cloak, which instantly rendered him invisible to everyone.

With the commander gone from sight, the Blue Suns began to target the two others with him. Miranda raised an arm towards one of the mercs, firing up her biotics and spawning a blue rapidly shifting mass effect field, which began to shred her now shrieking target apart. She then took out her M-4 Shuriken submachine gun and released a number of consecutive shots at a merc moving in too close for her comfort. She failed to notice the FENRIS Mech close in on her as it prepared to pounce until she heard a nearby shot, causing the mech to deactivate. She watched as her fellow squadmate vaulted over his cover from behind her, wielding his M-23 Katana shotgun while an electrifying azure aura enveloped him; she shuddered a little as he passed her, feeling the strength of his biotics from her position.

Jason initiated his biotic shockwave, toppling the mercs and FENRIS Mechs in front of him before he took cover behind the desk closest to the door where his shotgun and biotics would be most effective. He felt a bullet fly over his head followed by the sound of a body collapsing onto the ground; momentarily revolving his head around, he found the commander visible again as he reloaded his sniper rifle.

Shepard left his cover while he spotted Miranda leaving hers as Jason stretched after they had finished off the last merc. He smiled at the nonchalance the latter possessed as they moved out of Outprocessing, turning left into another hallway. His team easily defeated more of the Blue Suns and the couple FENRIS Mechs that met them in the corridor before progressing into the room at the end of it.

The door unsealed itself to reveal a technician unsteadily pointing a pistol at the commander, clearly frightened by their company. Again, Jason was immersed in a vivid azure blue as he propelled himself biotically towards the technician, who lost consciousness brought on from being charged at. He went on to pull the knocked out technician aside afterwards as the commander stepped in front of the control panel.

"It's the only way to Jack, Commander." His statement was exactly what Shepard's thought process had concluded to; the commander hit a few keys on the console, eliciting the release of Jack from his cryo-cell as well as the thousands of other prisoners on Purgatory.

_Oh shi- _His eyes were glued on the scene through the window before them: three daunting YMIR Mechs slowly approached Jack's cell, ready to subdue the convict. _How in the hell are we going to fight those? I don't have any heavy weapons on me._

"Shepard, what are we -" Miranda stopped mid-sentence, her attention drawn to the large mechanical arm that went over to undo the seal in the floor and secured itself on; the pod was pulled up and opened, releasing the frigid air it held as Jack's body slumped down.

"So Jack… is a girl." Jason stated the obvious; out of the corner of his eye, he saw the commander nod as his interest was caught by the convict. She was scantily clad in what appeared to be one or two straps attached together to cover an important part of her chest while a large pair of russet pants hung low on her hips. He noted how she was covered from the neck down in countless tattoos and how her head was shaved. _Well, it works for her._ Through the window, they witnessed Jack's sheer rage manifesting on her face as she gripped the sides of her cell before throwing herself forward, consumed by biotic blue energy once she attacked the YMIR Mechs.

"Let's go." Shepard declared, exiting the room with his sniper drawn; Miranda and Jason followed in suit.

"Warning, warning." The ship computer announced as they made their way down the stairs. The sounds of destruction grew distinct as they moved. When they entered the room that had once held Jack, taking in the fragmented remnants of the YMIR Mechs, they took notice of how the other side of the room bore a hole where their soon-to-be teammate had driven through, following after her easily by simply trailing after the wreckage she left in her path.

Warden Kuril's stressed voice ordered through the intercom, "All guards restore order. Lethal force authorized, but don't kill Jack! Techs, lockdown. Lockdown!" His broadcast was followed by Purgatory's computer declaring in its artificial voice, "Sectors Seven, Nine, and Eleven have lost life support. No survivors."

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><p>With one final shot from the commander, the warden's lifeless body fell to the floor. Jason frowned at the tear Kuril made earlier when his shields were down on the close-fitting dark bodysuit the Illusive Man had recently given him. <em>This is why I can't own nice things,<em> he thought as he moved along with the rest of the squad while checking the tear. The bodysuit fitted him so perfectly; it was almost as if the Illusive Man had somehow gotten his measurements for it to be made. _Wouldn't be surprised if he did._

* * *

><p>Jack had finally gotten out of the cryo-cell that held her for who knows how long. Running down the hallway, she spotted two Blue Suns mercs, a turian and a batarian; one of them yelled her to stop, but she was too engaged with the thought of killing them. She raised the batarian up biotically before slamming him roughly against a window, cracking it slightly as the merc died from a broken spine. Turning around, she slaughtered the remaining turian with one movement of her arm to activate her biotics, crashing him into the wall behind him. Her biotic glow slowly faded as the large ship out the window drew her interest.<p>

"Cerberus." Jack growled loudly from her infuriated state as she strode back and forth, trying to think of some way out of the fucking prison ship. "Aargh!"

Noticing another merc starting to aim at her, she spun around at the sound of gunshot landing on the batarian's head to face the man who fired and two others with him. She stood, knees bent, ready to fight them off if it came to that. "What the _hell_ do you want?"

"You're in a bad situation, and I'm going to get you out of here." Shepard said calmly, putting away his pistol; he frowned once he become aware that the convict in front of him was not listening.

"Shit, you sound like a pussy." Jack was not interested with anyone with the organization she loathed with an incomparable passion. What she really wanted was to get off Purgatory immediately. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're Cerberus."

"I'm here to ask for your help." Jason yawned in the background as he heard the commander's firm reply. _Just join us already,_ he thought.

Looking through the window at the Normandy, she replied. "You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. You think I'm stupid?"

"This ship is going down in flames. We can get you to safety, and we're asking for your help." Shepard reasoned with her, wishing she would agree.

"We could just knock her out and take her." Miranda's suggestion produced a silent chuckle from Jason, finding her deadpan somewhat humorous.

"I'd like to see you try." Jack glared at the woman in a Cerberus uniform then at the man who chuckled. She disliked them even more regardless of not even knowing their identities.

"We're not going to attack her." The commander stated, trying to reassure Jack that they were on the same side. His squadmates weren't exactly helping to his frustration, hoping they'd be more helpful when it came to recruiting.

"Good move." She advanced toward Shepard, sizing him up. "Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while. I bet your ship's got lots of Cerberus databases. I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me." She crossed her arms before resuming. "You want me on your team; let me go through those databases."

"I'll give you full access." Shepard replied tersely, more than willing to accept her demands especially when it came at the expense of the extremist Cerberus group.

Miranda voiced her disapproval; the commander was stepping over boundaries. "Shepard, you're not authorized to do that."

"O-o-oh, it upsets the cheerleader - even better." Jack sneered before taking a step forward to get her point across, facing Shepard with an unsmiling face. "You better be straight up with me." With the commander's nod, she stepped back. "So why the hell are we standing here?"

"Move out." The squad made way towards the docking hangar while Jack hanged back for a moment, looking at the Cerberus frigate as she contemplated.

* * *

><p>Jason viewed the scene in front of him with interest from his position leaning against the table with his upturned palm propping up his chin; Miranda's even voice began to clarify to the tattooed woman that she was to follow orders aboard this ship, much to the already existing resentment Jack possessed for her.<p>

When it looked like a fight was about to ensue as he noticed the usual biotic blue had flickered around Jack's hands, Shepard entered the room, acquiring both of the women's notice. The commander, who had changed out of his armor for casual wear, recognized them with a curt nod before speaking to Jack. "I'm true to my word. EDI will give you access to any information we have."

The rumble he felt from his stomach took his interest away from listening to the XO's protests against Shepard's unauthorized sanction while Jack gave her a smug look; he made his exit unnoticed, no longer hearing the voices coming from the room as he made his way to the elevator in the CIC.

_I should probably change, too._ He hadn't changed out of his suit yet, though it was very comfortable, it made him appear like Jacob and Miranda. _Like one of Cerberus. I need to get the rip fixed too. _He passed by the redhead Yeoman Chambers at her station beside the galaxy map, where the commander would plot the course to who-knows-where. _At least this bodysuit doesn't have the Cerberus emblem. _

His omni-tool pinged while he actuated the elevator; it was a secured message from a friend who still worked with the Shadow Broker. _Hmm… Not surprising._ The broker had learned of him joining up with Commander Shepard and Cerberus, and he was not pleased at all. The SB has sent a kill order out for him, but it was greatly hinted that he also would be pleased if one of his operatives managed to persuade Jason back into his forces.

He spent a short time at the mess hall, successfully convincing Mess Sergeant Gardner to part with an armful of protein bars of various flavors and a carton of vanilla soymilk. The food should be enough to keep his hunger at bay for now, but with a biotic's metabolism, he was going to be back for more, much sooner than later. The elevator brought him down to Engineering, the Normandy's fourth deck, while he began consume a protein bar that claimed it was Cookies & Cream flavored. _Ugh. This tastes like cardboard._

For the past couple weeks, he had inhabited the small room in the bowels of the deck down the stairs that were outside Main Engineering. The Normandy engineers Kenneth Donnelly and Gabriella Daniels both grew accustomed to his visits at their work space; he occasionally joined them for a game of Skyllian Five poker as a result of the commander purchasing T6-FBA Couplings that had made their maintenance work much easier, thus giving them more free time. _They would make a great couple_. He chuckled knowingly at how dense the two were when it came to how well they complemented each other, unconvincingly asserting that they were just friends to anyone who asked.

Jason almost choked on his protein bar when he saw Jack rummaging through his few belongings, not that he was concerned; they weren't of any value to him and could be easily replaced. "Can I help you?"

"I came here to find a place where I can stay until this whole mission thing is over. Didn't expect my prime choice to be taken already." She answered gruffly, identifying him as the guy who was alongside Shepard and the Cerberus bitch when they recruited her. "Who the fuck are you anyway?"

After taking a long swig from his carton, he shrugged. "Just some guy the commander picked up." He didn't feel like answering the question with the tone the woman in front of him was using, wholly forgetting that she had taken down three YMIR Mechs by herself.

"You must be Cerberus too, huh? Shit." Jack scowled at him, but to no avail as the man disinterestedly ate another protein bar. "Or not." She mumbled to herself, speculating as to why he wasn't leaving her alone whilst she took a seat on the cot nearby.

Running his fingers through his hair, he looked at the tattooed woman when he remembered that she was a biotic as well. He held out his remaining protein bars along with the mostly full carton of soymilk and asked, "Want some? You took down three YMIR Mechs and all, so…"

She eyed at him suspiciously before relieving him from the bars without so much as a 'thank you.' She began ravenously eating one bar after another, clearly starved from all the biotics she used.

Jason yawned as he gathered his belongings into his military-issue duffel bag; he knew it wouldn't do the crew any good with Jack being situated anywhere other than this room that was secluded from the rest of the ship. She was clearly not a people person. _She seems comfortable here anyway._

"What are you doing?" She asked through a mouthful of protein bar while she watched the strange man collect his things; she still felt conflicted about whether he was Cerberus or not. His suit was like a male version of the catsuit the cheerleader wore, but it didn't have the emblem on it, which threw her off.

"I'm going to look for a new place to stay. This place is too quiet." He smiled insouciantly at Jack whom remarked that he was a weird fucker then set off to down the rest of the soymilk. "I'll see you around then."

* * *

><p>Miranda Lawson generally spent her period on the Normandy in her officeroom; she seldom left it seeing as there was always a considerable amount of various reports she had to compose regarding the progress of the mission, updates of the commander's performance, or insights about certain crewmembers. When she did have free time, she would spend it reading or perusing the regular updates her contact sends her about her younger sister, Oriana. Her routine was not often disrupted.

Though, there she was out in the unoccupied mess hall, dining in silence since the crew tended to avoid her presence. She hardly touched her food tray, owing to her recently purchased vid book that she found herself reading absorbedly, but mostly it was mostly unmoved because of the odd quality it had. She glanced at her tray and sighed at the tasteless military provisions that Cerberus had provided for the Normandy.

"Men are from Omega, Women are from Illium?" She turned her head to trace the voice to its owner; the man wore an interested smile as he stood beside her, looking over at the datapad she held. "Is it a good read?"

From her seated position, Jason towered over her. If she stood beside him, he was still considerably taller; his height being 6'4" according to the dossier that she was provided by the Illusive Man, which was remarkably thorough compared to the one she had forwarded to the commander. Presently, he was leaning down as he read over her shoulder. She answered, "I like the concept that the author is conveying."

He took a seat at her table, letting his duffel bag fall to the floor and placing his food tray in front of him. "That men are from Omega and women are from Illium?" He smiled at the XO as he began to eat his late dinner.

"Yes." Miranda returned the gesture with a smile of her own, albeit faint, before she proceeded to finish her serving of what appeared to be some sort of stew.

* * *

><p>The XO was surprised at how much time had passed during her chat with Sterling, but she didn't know what to think of it. He was the only one on the entire ship who spoke to her with such ease, behaving like he had known her for years although even those who have still found it difficult to talk to her informally like the man beside her has since his arrival on the Normandy. Also, the Illusive Man planned for him to enter the organization seeing as the man would make an invaluable ally, and Miranda Lawson was not one to fraternize with her coworkers, excluding that brief tryst she had with Jacob.<p>

He leaned forward from his chair as he examined the distant gaze of the woman before him. It was only a moment ago when he had elicited a laugh, although quiet, from the seemingly humorless Cerberus operative for the first time with a witty remark that was quickly forgotten as soon as he had heard the lovely sound. He believed he had made a breakthrough with the XO when, in a flash, she reverted back to her impersonal demeanor. He tilted his head as he waited for her response, "You okay?"

Her train of thought broke when she heard his concerned voice. "I am. Thanks for asking." She took notice of how he didn't attempt to hide the flicker of disappointment that showed on his face when she answered in the professional manner she learned to use; bemused as to why she allowed her guard down around Sterling, she went back to her aloof tone to keep consistency with how she treated the rest of the crew.

Jason got up, slinging his duffel over his shoulder before gathering the empty tray that held his dinner about two hours ago. "No worries. Oh, wow, it's late… You better go catch up on some Z's. You're working too hard." He chuckled as he gave Miranda a polite smile, which hid the incomprehension he held towards the woman, before he turned to discard his tray before heading towards the elevator. Without breaking his pace, he stated over his shoulder, "Have a good night, Ms. Lawson."

* * *

><p>Thanks to whoever is reading this; it'd be great to hear what people think so review.<p> 


	3. Chapter Three

Another chapter! Thanks to owl208 for beta-ing thus the overall improvement of the story's progression.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect series nor do I own Bioware, and I still need to pre-order ME3.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Three<strong>_

A rapid flurry of blows hit the commander's arms positioned to protect his face; the moment the attacks stopped, Shepard lowered his defense a little as he prepared to strike back. His opponent, taking advantage of the opening, landed an effective uppercut to the chin that was followed by a hard right roundhouse to the Normandy's commanding officer's solar plexus.

"Had enough, Shep?" Jason watched where the commander's form was sprawled out on the floor, trying to catch his breath. He held out his hand to help the man up, who took appreciatively took it.

"Well, at least I know your dossier wasn't lying now..." Shepard coughed as he rubbed his aching midsection. He caught the water bottle that was thrown at him, thirstily guzzling down all its contents.

Jason grinned before taking a drink of his own water. They were in the lowest deck of the Normandy, the hangar. Since he had relinquished the room underneath Engineering to their tattooed squadmate, he took up his residence at the 'garage' as he preferred to call it. Even with the large exhaust fans scattered throughout it and the Kodiak shuttle on the far corner, the garage was generally an unused open area. He had discussed his idea of having a gym on the ship as a way for the crew to blow off steam that Shepard immediately became fond of and eagerly made the requisition order to the XO.

After a brief stopover at the Citadel earlier that week, the garage became fully outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment including sparring mats in the middle, some heavy bags on the starboard side, etc. It was all reasonably priced as well thanks to the commander, who was able to somehow persuade the merchants he dealt with into reducing their prices for him.

"I think I've sufficiently been beaten up." Shepard smiled pleasantly at the man he came to view as a friend; he found the Vanguard's informal nature refreshing compared to the awkwardly formal conversations he shared with the rest of the Normandy's current crew. "Invite me down here if you ever spar with Jacob - the guy is a strong boxer. I'll be up at the loft if you need me."

Jason chuckled and went towards his corner of the garage, where aged datapads were scattered around his makeshift bed on the floor; he used his duffel bag as a pillow and an extra blanket Doctor Chakwas had given him. He let a big yawn out as he grabbed a clean shirt to switch with the one he had on which was a bit soaked from his previous workout followed by the sparring match with Shepard, and he laid down on his bed, his hands behind his head.

"Jack, Mordin - suit up. We're going to recruit Okeer." He heard the commander's announcement over the intercom. He knew of the krogan warlord from one of the mercenaries the Shadow Broker paired him up with before. Dr. Okeer was ill-reputed as a militant radical so ruthless and fanatical that even his own race has turned on him. Nonetheless, he was fascinated with the krogan and his work. _I remember Wrex talking about him. Sold his own people to the Collectors for some of their advanced tech._

* * *

><p>"So, what exactly happened out there?" Jason leaned back on his chair, balancing on one of its rear legs effortlessly, while he waited for the troubled commander to respond. He had just awoken from his nap when the man returned and promptly requested his company at the mess.<p>

"Okeer told us to go take care of Jedore, and we did. When we came back, he was already gone. We took his 'perfect krogan' in his stead." Shepard traced his finger around the rim of his cup that contained the remainder of a revolting coffee substitute; he endured the taste for the caffeine fix he desperately needed for the long night of reports he had put off for the past week, inciting Miranda's unyielding lecture about his work ethic involving said paperwork. "The team is basically split up about whether or not to release the krogan from his tank."

"In the end, it's going to be always up to you, Commander. It's your ship. You decide whether you want to 'birth' the krogan or not." He reached for his tea, taking a sip, before returning it onto the table. "It'd be great though to have someone who can take more hits than usual - a krogan would be a strong addition to the team. That's my opinion, anyway."

The commander emptied his mug then shook his head, coughing at the horrible taste of his drink. He saw the look Gardner was giving him from his position in the kitchen, and he waved the man's concern away. "I could light a match with my tongue." He said to no one in particular, outwardly frowning at the lingering aftertaste in his mouth.

"Here." Chuckling, Jason slid his untouched cup of water to Shepard, who drank it without hesitation. Jason stood up and gave his superior a mock salute. "Well, Shep, tell me if you're releasing the guy. I'm great with kids." His last remark earned a laugh from the commander, now more relaxed than he was prior to their conversation.

For the past couple weeks or so, he had been dining with the Normandy's executive officer. It had been relatively quiet for the first few days; however, being just the two of them in her office, she had begun opening up to him little by little. She revealed to him about a few of her Cerberus operations prior to becoming head of the Lazarus Cell, granted that she did not divulge the information all in one sitting and that she left out details with the reason being that it was classified information for the Illusive Man's eyes and ears alone. "Gardner, got anything good for me and the XO?"

The mess sergeant, who had been leaning idly against the kitchen counter, turned to heat up a large pot on the stove. "Sure thing, kid. I have some of my calamari gumbo right here. Want to try a bite?" Gardner scooped up a spoonful of it and held it out for him to try.

"Don't do it! It's a trap, Jason!" The warning came from the Normandy's Scottish engineer as he made his way into the mess hall. "That man can't make a good haggis if his life depended on it."

"All haggis taste like ass anyway." Gabby added as she joined her best friend's side. She took up a food tray, greeting Jason with a small wave.

The Scottish man admitted the truth in her words, and he replied with a trace of dejection, "Aye, but in the right hands, it can taste like mighty fine ass."

The cook shook his head at Kenneth's joking, "I'm not even serving haggis. I'm good, but I'm no miracle worker." He turned to ladle generous servings of gumbo onto the rice he had placed beforehand onto two food trays, setting them on the counter out for Jason. "Hope the XO enjoys it."

Nodding his thanks to the mess sergeant, he took the trays and departed the mess for the XO's office. He passed the table where he and the commander were seated in earlier, finding Shepard to be absent. _Must've left because of the lack of reports Miranda had called him out on. _He chuckled before he shook his head, correcting himself. _No, no. He probably went down to have dinner with Jack like always. _

Jack disliked 'through traffic' – she had told him once – and favored isolation over company, so it was unlikely that she would ever go up to the mess to dine along with the rest of the crew. Jason had taken it upon himself to deliver the food to her for a chance to learn more about the dangerous woman and her past with Cerberus, but when he had sensed the commander's interest in her, which was evident from how he predictably chose her to join him on side missions and went out of his way to talk to the frankly harsh squadmate, he suggested that Shepard take his role of bringing meals to her.

The door unbolted itself, permitting Jason to enter into the familiar office/room. He chuckled inwardly upon finding Miranda engrossed in writing her reports as usual, a small crease formed in between her brows which he found strangely endearing. He greeted her with a smile, "How's my favorite XO doing?"

Identifying the voice of the one person aboard the Normandy whom spoke to her with such ease, the Cerberus operative pried her attention away from one of the many reports that needed to be completed, relinquishing it to the man in front of her. She mentally sighed as several matters popped into her mind that all pertained to the laid back squadmate. His routine visits to her office during mealtimes during which she ordinarily would work through were starting to affect their relationship as she felt that they were becoming too friendly towards one another than she would prefer; she reprimanded herself for participating in furthering the development of their camaraderie for she had encouraged him by laughing and disclosing a few particulars about her past. It utterly went against her customary principle about keeping ideally distant and professional relationships with her colleagues unless it completely necessary to do so otherwise - it rarely ever came to the point where it was.

"You alright?" Jason raised a brow quizzically, unknowingly interrupting the seated operative's thought process. He held up the trays he carried to acquire the woman's notice, making it clear as to why he was presently in her quarters, "I brought food."

Miranda gestured towards the seat in front of her desk which was next the Vanguard, observing as he placed the tray he had brought for the XO carefully in front of her. She voiced her thanks but did not start eating. She was recalling the message the Illusive Man sent her earlier that day, a 'mission of dire urgency' as he had called it; though unstated, the message greatly indicated her superior's eagerness to secure the loyalty of the Shadow Broker's former top operative. "The Illusive Man contacted me earlier. He obtained intelligence that could possibly lead to that trial mission you offered him."

_I was wondering when he was going to take advantage of it_. He guided a spoonful of gumbo into his mouth, savoring the rich taste as he studied the Cerberus woman's controlled movements. _Impeccable table manners as always, XO, _he noted while he speculated what the leader of the infamous organization had prepared for him regarding the 'trial op.'

* * *

><p>A ping of an omni-tool which resounded in the room was followed by another, prompting the only two people in the space to check their devices as orange holographic forms appeared on each of their left arms as they scanned their notifications. <em>Message from SB?<em> Jason glanced at the Cerberus operative in front of him; given that she was occupied with browsing through her omni-tool's database, he opted to read the message sent to him from his former boss.

_To: Jason Sterling_

_From: Shadow Broker_

_There is still time to salvage the situation. Resume your position amongst my high-ranking operatives. If not, I am left with no choice other than to send out a kill order. You have until the end of a Galactic Standard day to respond. Shadow Broker out._

He clenched his jaw tightly, a rare expression of loathing showed on his customarily relaxed face. It was easy for him to see what the information broker was scheming, which included the ex-operative immersed in it all. _Bastard._ He thought of the Illusive Man and added him to the list. _Bastards._

* * *

><p>A small crease appeared in between the brows of the chagrined brunette once again as a sign of her deep contemplation; her superior had relayed her specifics for the mission of the man seated obverse to her along with a task specified for herself. The assignment was detailed to be one selected to assess the Vanguard's expertise explicitly in intelligence gathering, clandestine work, and threat neutralization. She looked over to the composed squadmate, observing him as he set his omni-tool back to its idle feature which triggered the orange holographic structure to withdraw.<p>

"What's up?" His bass voice broke the silence, locking eyes with the XO as soon as he looked up from closing his omni-tool. He struggled to distract himself from any contemplations of the Shadow Broker's plans, shifting himself in his chair to a much comfortable position to ready himself for the information he was about to be given.

Miranda reiterated what she had read from the mission's dossier, "Your mission. The Illusive Man believes that one of our agents has gone rogue, but he lacks sufficient evidence to validate his presumption. The agent is Ron Guilesow." Pausing for a second, she took note of the distant quality of Sterling's expression; his thoughts were apparently elsewhere. He seemed to become aware of the briefing's cessation as he immediately apologized, requesting the XO to continue. "Not long ago, Guilesow finished a mission on the Citadel. He requested to remain for a while longer owing to the upcoming promotional event later today celebrating the renovation of the Dark Star Lounge in the Zakera Ward. The Illusive Man thinks that this is not the case. Find evidence of Guilesow's transgressions and terminate him. Most likely, the event will be a hot spot for high profile clientele, so discretion is greatly advised."

"How am I going to the Citadel if the commander has no idea about this?" He studied the image of Ron Guilesow that came into view on one of the XO's consoles, making certain that the man's face was rooted into his memory.

"Shepard plans to respond to the message he received from Admiral Anderson by going to the Citadel to meet with him personally."

_How coincidental_, Jason mused as he scratched at his five o'clock shadow. "Been sifting through Shep's mail, XO?"

She gave him a prolonged stare with her smoky blue eyes prior to shaking her head at his enquiry and resuming with the briefing, "You will be going as Franco Laski, a fresh face to the modeling industry. I will provide you backup assistance if needed, but I will not physically be present seeing as it would risk the mission on the off chance that Guilesow recognizes me."

"Understood," The Vanguard confirmed before standing up. "I guess I'll go get ready then."

* * *

><p>Exuding blue flickered from a tattooed arm of the convict aboard the Normandy as she biotically levitated her M-3 Carnifex heavy pistol, moving it up and down effortlessly whilst she skimmed through a datapad she held in her free hand. "Damn Cerberus…" She growled as she read on about the radical human-centric group's past projects, all of them warranted her ever-increasing hatred.<p>

"ETA to the Citadel – One and a half hours." The Normandy's pilot announced over the intercom, which Jack ignored.

She had become familiar with the many broadcasts over the intercom that she paid no heed to them unless it involved herself being part of the squad for missions, which was occurring lately. Fighting was her outlet, a way to hone her skills and keep her anger in check. It was good thing that Shepard knew that.

"Shepard." She thought out loud; the man visited her every mealtime unless he had a mission to deal with. At first, she was skeptical about the goody-goody commanding officer, but she learned to accept it. Hell, he brought her food - don't fix what isn't broken, right? As long as he kept his distance, and not ask too many questions and irritate her, she was fine with it.

* * *

><p>"What goes on?"<p>

"Sweet potato fries!" Joker exclaimed, looking over his shoulder to find the crewmate with ruffled espresso-brown hair standing beside his chair; he had not heard the man approach. "Do you want me to die? Who do you think drives the Normandy?"

Quirking a brow, Jason chuckled lightly as he pointed to one of the many orange consoles in front of the pilot, "You don't look like you're driving the Normandy."

Joker turned to find that he hadn't closed window that he had opened when he was searching for asari porn. With a tap on the screen, the website disappeared from view. He defended himself, "A man has needs. Anyway, we're almost at the Citadel."

Sure enough, the political, cultural, and financial capital of the galactic community became visible as the ship moved toward it. Consisting of a large central ring with five arms protruding from it, the Citadel housed the Presidium and the Wards respectively. The Normandy advanced towards the ring, which enabled easier approach for ships as it was the center of rotation for the massive station. _Haven't been here in a long time._

Positioning his hat securely on his head to his liking, the bearded pilot began to ease his beloved Normandy SR-2 to dock with the station. It took a few short minutes before EDI proclaimed that the ship was successfully docked to which Joker answered back with a "No shit, Sherlock."

"Mr. Moreau, the fictitious character Sherlock Holmes is irrelevant to the subject." EDI pronounced in its artificial speech.

"What's up with the civvies?" Joker disregarded the ship's AI as he remarked on the Vanguard's attire. His chair swiveled around to permit him to fully scrutinize the civilian look that Jason sported; a black v-neck and distressed grey pants, both emphasized the man's well-built form. "Going on a date or something?"

"Definitely," His sarcastic riposte was followed by the appearance of his trademark smirk on his face. Tracing the healing wound on his right arm where he had been grazed by a bullet the day he joined the recognized Spectre's squad, he did his best to refrain from picking at it lest he would alter its recovery.

"Sterling," The Australian accented voice of the Normandy's XO called from behind; he turned around to watch as she strode through the bridge to the cockpit. The woman stopped close to the main airlock, examining taller man's appearance. It was strange to regard him in civilian wear; he truly gave the impression of being a male model as she took in his lean build. "Nice outfit."

"Indeed." The armor-clad commander agreed as he joined their group. He looked from the laid-back Vanguard to the austere Cerberus operative then finally to the ship's acerbic pilot whom shrugged to indicate his knowledge of the current situation was nonexistent.

"I was hoping you'd give us shore leave for today." Jason proposed whilst his fingers went through his hair, mussing it out of habit.

Shepard took a minute to chew the idea over before answering positively. "I don't see why not. Just one day though. I expect everyone to be back here by tomorrow before we leave at 0700 hours."

"Roger that, Shep." Lazily saluting, he gave the Normandy's commanding officer a smirk. "I'll try not to get _too_ drunk."

* * *

><p>Heavily inhabited, accommodating millions of residents from various galactic species, the Citadel Wards were similar to the sizeable cities back on Earth such as Singapore and Hong Kong. The countless skyscrapers that rose from the superstructure, sealed against the vacuum of space given that the breathable atmosphere is only maintained at the height of roughly seven meters, never ceased to amaze Jason Sterling.<p>

He was brought out of his reverie straightaway once he heard the static-free voice of the XO in his ear comm, "Check. Sterling, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear. I'm heading over to the party." He viewed the information desk which was busy with visiting tourists – beside it was a hallway that led to Citadel Security Services' offices and custody suites. _Can't go through there._ There was a long history between C-Sec and himself, spanning from when he began operating under the Shadow Broker to a year ago when he renounced all ties with the information broker. Identifying a rapid transit terminal, he proceeded towards it, hanging around as he waited for a public shuttle to arrive. He glimpsed at his omni-tool for the time, shaking his head at Rapid Transit's failure to adhere to their own slogan. _Every ten minutes, my ass._

* * *

><p>People stared. Not that she cared as she readied herself to tread past the crowd; her shaved-head and slender tattooed figure made her distinguishable from those around her. She stopped dead in her tracks, recalling that the door she had been heading towards would bring her straight into C-Sec's offices. "Shi-"<p>

She stopped mid-curse, arching an eyebrow the instant she spotted her olive-skinned squadmate stepping into a public shuttle. A transitory query as to where the man was going entered her mind before it was quickly forgotten while she imitated his method of avoiding C-Sec by use of the Rapid Transit. Her thoughts went to what she planned to do for her shore leave – fight, drink, and fight some more at any one of the seedy dive bars in the Lower Wards. She leered, "This is going to a fucking great day."

* * *

><p>People were congregated throughout the vicinity of the Dark Star Lounge, all waiting for someone prominent to either arrive or depart from the festivities inside. Sliding on a pair of Aviator sunglasses, Jason passed through the crowd. A massive elcor was positioned in front of the entrances, acting as a bouncer similar to the one he had seen on Omega, while a turian usher stood beside him. He pointed to the datapad that the usher held, "Franco Laski."<p>

A nod of assent from the turian for him to go through instigated a number of cameras to flash, attempting to get a shot of the man who managed to get into the luminary-filled event as he proceeded inside.

The lounge was packed, undoubtedly past its room capacity as various species mingled, drank, and danced - overall, they reveled thoughtlessly, paying no heed to the world outside of Dark Star. _Look for a grubby, balding middle-aged man. Grubby, balding…_ Ron Guilesow's image occupied the undercover Vanguard's concentration as he circulated the bacchanalia in search of the allegedly rogue Cerberus agent. He procured a new glass of liquor from a drunken bystander on the verge of collapsing from his inebriation, "You've had enough."

He had already walked away when the man had detected the absence and reacted with a bout of confusion, accusing those around him of taking his precious alcohol. _Grubby and balding,_ he pinpointed the target of his mission speaking with a stranger near the bar, so he weaved through the crowd, positioning himself at the bar to be within hearing range of the conversation. Downing the liquor he held, he placed the glass on the counter, raising a hand for the drink to be refilled as he closed his eyes to allow his senses to concentrate on his hearing.

"- is possible? He sounds dangerous." A hesitant voice doubted. _Guilesow, I'm guessing?_

"Dark Star and its surrounding area are completely covered. There is no possibility for escape." An emotionless response came from whom Jason discerned as the stranger. _Covered? No escape?_

Guilesow's voice dropped into a whisper, "Why would the Shadow Broker go through such lengths to get him?"

Jason's eyes flew open upon his former employer's title being spoken. _Shit._ His thoughts flitted from one supposition to the next about what the Shadow Broker planned to do to him alongside his thoughts on how he was to escape from the lounge in exchange for somewhere secure.

"After all the resources and time the Broker has invested on Sterling, he's an imperative."

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><p><strong>Author's note:<strong>

Do review! It would be great to know what people think of the story so far and what you think is coming.


	4. Chapter Four

Once again, I thank owl208 for being my beta - you've been so helpful!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect series nor Bioware, though I highly anticipate ME3 - I still need to pre-order it.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Four<strong>_

The music blared, inducing the entire beings of those inside Dark Star Lounge to throb along with it as they heedlessly continued on with their debauchery. Miranda Lawson was not excluded from the reverberating music's effect on the rest of the clients as her body pulsed whilst she navigated along the edges of the gathering, scanning the crowd for a familiar face.

The Illusive Man had directed her to observe and assess Sterling's performance in the field as he went about his mission; it was nothing she was unaccustomed to from her years working under the Cerberus leader. After separating the distinctive dark chocolate-colored hair of her covert squadmate from the rest of the diverse mass in Dark Star, her eyes locked onto a baldheaded man a few feet away from him. Her mind established the stranger as Ron Guilesow, the Vanguard's mark if sufficient evidence was found to incriminate him.

She found that Jason had situated himself at the bar, drinking from a blue liquid-filled glass from time to time, as he inconspicuously eavesdropped on Guilesow's conversation with an unidentified contact. All of a sudden, however, he coolly stood up and began to move himself away from Guilesow and his acquaintance's vicinity, inciting Miranda to trail after him as she internally questioned why he was leaving his target.

* * *

><p>As Franco Laski, he passed through the crowd with ease, stopping every now and then under the guise of joining the mindless chatter that the patrons of Dark Star involved themselves in when, in reality, he was surveying the lounge in search of some kind of exit. <em>There's got to be a way out of here. There's always a way out.<em>

He frowned upon noticing two turians positioned near the main exits - he discerned that both were not taking part in the lounge's social gathering from the amount of concealed arms they kept. _Nope, not that way. I wonder who got the pleasure of hunting me down…_

Out of nowhere, a hand caught his arm, impeding him from continuing his search for an escape. _What the-_ He relaxed once he heard a familiar accented voice speak close to his ear, "What are you doing?"

"I could ask the same thing about you." He replied, expressing his reaction to her unexpected company in the form of a raised brow. _The Illusive Man must've sent her to spy on me… _"Didn't you say you weren't going to be _physically_ present? What happened to using the comms?" He noted the only alteration on her appearance – the concealment of the Cerberus emblem on her black-and-white catsuit – and scoffed. "That's not even a disguise."

"I know what I'm doing." The lips of the XO pursed slightly from annoyance; still gripping the man's arm, she began to turn as she planned to lead him towards a dimmer, less occupied area of Dark Star.

Jason pulled her back towards him when she started to move, resulting in the XO being pinned against him due to the scarce amount of space in the packed lounge. Inwardly amused with the startled expression that briefly overshadowed Miranda's typically uncompromising mien, he justified his actions with an easy smile, "We can't isolate ourselves from the rest of the party. It'll draw unwanted attention."

She had a strong desire to disagree with his reasoning, but as she took in his argument of staying within the confines of the crowd, she admitted that they were indeed camouflaged – hidden amongst the other various couples partaking in the revelry. She curtly nodded, though not before she placed a gloved hand on his broad chest as a small barrier between them. Her heartbeat marginally escalated as a result of their closeness, much to her disapproval; all she could breathe in was his musk, and though she could not place a name on the scent, she found it pleasing. Setting the untimely thoughts aside, she asked, "Why did you leave Guilesow?"

"The Shadow Broker sent someone after me." He paused as the notion of the Broker's relentless hunt for him resurfaced as one of the prevailing tribulations in his life; his time on the Normandy had caused him to disremember such a significant detail. Spying movement headed towards them from his peripherals, his mind precipitously ran through several means to evade capture. _Shit. _"We need to get out of here ASAP."

The moment Miranda had composed her thoughts on their predicament and was about to voice a plan, a firm pair of lips pressed against hers. Her eyes widened at what was ensuing before they gradually closed as she acceded to the kiss, her hand fisted a good part of Jason's black v-neck whilst her body automatically pushed itself against his. Any analytical thought was completely lost as her mind instinctively engrossed itself on all things sensory – her rapid heartbeat along with his, their close proximity that permitted the former, the heat that surged throughout her body... The kiss continued to deepen, becoming more and more fervent; his hand placed on the small of her back drew her near while the other cupped the side of her face, holding her tightly to him, as he stole the breath from her lungs. Her privation of air was what brought her back to reality – releasing her grip on his shirt, she gasped as she pushed herself away from him, struggling to catch her breath prior to questioning her sagacity out loud, "What the hell was that?" Her thoughts were muddled as the effects of the kiss lingered, putting her in a state of disorientation. It was rare for her to feel so uncertain about something.

Jason breathed heavily once Miranda broke away from him. _Wow._ A faint smirk inevitably emerged on his face as he watched her strain to keep up her usual callous façade while she attempted to collect herself; he licked his slightly swollen lips in silent satisfaction. He tried to keep close to her, exploiting the moderate difference in height to conceal her from whoever was coming their way – trusting that they had cemented themselves as one of the sundry couples in the lounge with that heated kiss.

The entire lounge seemed to have fallen abruptly silent other than the sound of lackluster clapping moving toward them. "That was a good show and all, but there's no use hiding, Sterling." An armored asari stated, indolently waving her recently drawn M-23 Katana in the air. Halting once she stood directly in front of them, she took a minute to review her shotgun and reloaded it, alarming those participating in the festivity around them. "Now, be a good boy and come with us. The boss wants you back."

_Damn it. _"Aela," Jason addressed the asari with familiarity, his body tensed as it insentiently primed itself for a potential fight. "Still working for the Broker, huh?" He didn't like where things were going. _Knowing Aela, she's not going down without a fight. There are too many neutrals. I can't fight them here…_ "The problem though is that I don't want to go back." His mind focused on the woman beside him, inwardly grumbling. _How in the hell are we getting out of here?_

"It's not about what you want. Orders are orders - _you_ of all people should know that." The indigo-skinned alien glanced at the ebony-haired female alongside Sterling, sneering upon establishing the woman's identity. "Well, well, well – If it isn't the Illusive Man's genetic mutt." The amount of spite was unmistakable as she continued, "I hear your daddy is looking for you."

The XO went rigid, a multitude of thoughts swarmed her mind - fear for her sister's safety overshadowed all the others. The man she had been kissing earlier contended, "Leave her out of this and I'll come with you." _Come on, Aela. Let her go. Broker only wants me._

"Wish it was that simple, but I can't do that." Aela gestured for their restraint to which Jason responded with a growl as he resisted against the asari's companions - distinct azure discharged from his body as visible confirmation of his biotics being actuated. "You see Cerberus princess over there… Her father is offering a _shit_ ton of credits for her, and I'm not going to be the idiot who passes on it." She leered at the idea of augmenting her wealth, paying no mind to the struggling humans her turian companions held back.

With another motion from the asari, Jason felt something forcibly stabbed into his arm; he looked to his flank and helplessly witnessed one of the turians holding him back inject a clear ominous fluid into him before he could fight back - the same was done to Miranda. His attention returned to where Aela stood; his senses were already starting to fail him – the edges of his vision came to be blurry and dull, the booming music in the lounge muted into a faint murmur, and any command he held over his body vanished. He barely cognized the asari smirk, "Night, kiddies."

His eyelids turned into lead as the last thing he hazily perceived was everything moving upwards before all went black - a thud resounded once his body made contact with Dark Star's metal floor.

* * *

><p>The commander had cut short the crew's shore leave on account of some emergency, though she could care less about whatever it was. Jack had been in the progress of beating the crap out of a hulking krogan who had made the grave mistake of calling her 'weak' when she received the message to return to the Normandy; although, it was in good timing since C-Sec arrived at the dive a few minutes after she left to address the disturbance that had been reported to them. Fuming with irritation from the brevity of her shore leave, the convict stormed into Communications.<p>

"Now that we're all here," Shepard leaned on his arms as his hands were planted on the conference table's surface. He hardened his face – his way to mask his fatigue and convey the urgency of the situation. "EDI has informed me that she has lost contact with Jason and Miranda at five this afternoon. It's been…" He glanced at the time on his omni-tool, a clear scowl appeared on his face from what he saw. "Three hours."

"Maybe they're fucking." The subsequent glare from the stern commander went unnoticed for Jack found her concentration diverted into intently analyzing the krogan beside Shepard as if the alien appeared out of nowhere. "What the hell? When did_ that_ get here?"

"This is Grunt - Okeer's legacy." He responded prior to crossing his arms; he took a deep breath to rid himself of the escalating unease which stemmed from the missing two squadmates, "Anyway, we got info from C-Sec that they identified several of the Shadow Broker's agents throughout the Citadel. Something's obviously going on."

"What's the plan, Shepard?" Garrus asked, shifting his weight onto his other leg as he anxiously waited for his friend's reply. Since becoming a member of the human Spectre's crew once more, he had been feeling restless due to his exclusion on recent ground team missions – he pined for some action.

"Not going to be easy. Shadow Broker involved." Mordin added in his prompt speech before continuing to fiddle with his omni-tool, "Suggest split into groups. Divide and conquer."

"Agreed," Jacob grimly pronounced; his arms were crossed as he surveyed his teammates surrounding the conference table. It felt atypical without the predictable attendance of his fellow Cerberus operative – he knew there was more to the situation than what the commander was knowledgeable of, though he remained silent. He'd ask Miranda later once they retrieved her and the blithe Vanguard from whatever trouble they were in.

"All right. Jacob and Mordin, Garrus and Grunt, and Jack, you're with me." Shepard appointed before temporarily pausing for any objections. When none were voiced, he continued, "Look for any leads to their location. We need to hurry – god knows where they are right now. Activate your ear comms, and head out."

* * *

><p>Miranda opened her eyes, blinking several times to acclimate to the dim lighting of the space in which she was presently detained; her body complained as a consequence of stiffly lying against the rigid floor for what she presumed was an extended period of time, leading her to prop herself up against the wall. She censured herself for her capture as well as her squadmate's, "All that genetic tailoring, wasted." She should have reacted aptly to the situation rather than becoming preoccupied with the poorly timed kiss that the Vanguard mesmerized her with. Her brows knitted from her frustration, the kiss was continuing to addle her. "Damn it, Sterling."<p>

She froze as realization struck - Sterling was not with her.

* * *

><p>His eyes instantly shot wide open, though he all he took in was white with intermittent blue flashes. The agony was palpable as he writhed and thrashed about against his restraints - the steel held, bruising his wrists and ankles as he did so. An anguish-filled roar erupted from his throat as he strained to pull his elevated hands down to confirm that his throbbing head was still there, to hold it as a way to possibly alleviate the burning pressure. <em>Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP! <em>No one heard his mental cry as his skull felt like it was being compacted from the sides; the unrelenting force pressing his brain intensified, affecting his howling as it escalated to be even more deafening. Consciousness began to slip away as swiftly as it had come to him earlier when the torture had started - he welcomed the relief that the darkness presented him.

* * *

><p>"How did it go?" The impassive query was followed by the mechanical sealing of the door as proof of its reception of another entity into the observation room.<p>

Aela identified the detached speech as her superior's, Operative Roa't. "The wailing finally stopped." She studied the holo-screen of the technician closest to her, taking in the endless data that paraded on it. "We'll start the 'reboot' in five since we have to let his vitals stabilize before we do anything. The 'reboot' itself will take some time."

"Make no mistakes. We lack the sufficient amount of time to make a new one." Roa't observed through the two-way glass at the lone figure manacled and fettered to the wall. A slight scowl disrupted his ordinarily unreadable appearance – his reflections were on what went amiss in the project to have produced such a tiresome situation. Verifying the time on his omni-tool, he directed, "It is time to correct the anomaly."

* * *

><p>"Hmm… Densely populated by humans and batarians, the garden world of Anhur was home to the Anhur Rebellions: a civil war apropos the re-legalization of slavery which endured from 2176 to 2178. In the end, the abolitionists triumphed - the existing Anhur still retains its natural wealth, but apart from its reform industry, its economy is relatively weak as a consequence of the Rebellions. Interesting." Joker stroked his beard pensively at the information he had read aloud about the planet the Normandy's shore party had landed on a moment ago before returning his focus to some newfound asari pornsite, "The wonders of the extranet."<p>

* * *

><p>"That volus sure talked fast." The smugness was clearly present in the convict's voice and features – recalling the events on the Citadel – as she ran slightly ahead of the N7 armor-clad commander.<p>

Shepard retorted, "You were holding him up ten feet up in the air with your biotics while you thoroughly explained how you were going to disembowel him. Shit, Jack. I wonder why?"

Jack grinned self-contentedly as she took in the man's sarcasm as grudging admiration. "Fucker deserved it. Don't be jealous that I got results." The tattooed woman teased as she nimbly bounded over a large tree root jutting out from the ground.

He shook his head at their back-and-forth, inwardly pleased with their congruency. Pressing a finger against his ear comm while he kept up with Jack, he spoke to the rest of the team, "According to Barla Von, Miranda and Jason _may_ or _may not_ be at the Blue Suns' base here on Anhur. My guess is that they are." Brushing away the obstructing florae, he moved deeper into the uncultivated forest overrun by its plant life. "The base is at the heart of this forest – the foliage is dense so if we can use it to hide ourselves, they can too. Just so we're clear, Grunt and Garrus will create the distraction outside the base while Mordin and Jacob will join Jack and I inside the compound to search for our AWOL squadmates. Got it?" On the opposite sides of the ear comm, Shepard heard the krogan's acknowledging grunt amongst the other confirmations of understanding the strategy for the retrieval of their squadmates – content with their answers, once he caught sight of the entrance to the Blue Suns' complex, he asserted, "Let's do this."

* * *

><p>Overhearing the disorder outside of the small room she was kept in, Miranda Lawson stood up and stared warily at the cell's only exit. Without warning, the door along with some of the wall was destroyed by the strength of explosives – it was by absolute luck that she had managed to step back in time, evading being crushed by the collapsing bomb-detached door.<p>

"Miranda!" Her Cerberus colleague greeted as he stepped over the debris, extending out her favored submachine gun for her to retrieve. The man's relief was explicit as his body eased from its tension, "You're okay."

"Yeah." Miranda concurred as she summarily checked the amount of thermal clips in the M-4 Shuriken. She held her stare at Jacob, wordlessly requesting him to disclose the events that had transpired during her incarceration.

"Still searching for Jason. Need to keep moving. Must explore rest of level." Mordin notified the two Cerberus operatives calmly whilst he held an M-6 Carnifex heavy pistol ready at his side. Noticing movement of blue armor from behind a crate, the scientist fired, effectually reducing the amount of Blue Suns in the compound. "Should tune ear comm to squad's frequency."

"Alright," She respected the salarian professor's advice as she keyed in the desired frequency for her ear comm into her omni-tool. The instant she was linked, she received the commander's clear voice in her ear.

"Nice to have you back, Miranda. Mind explaining to us what happened?" The sound of incessant fire from Shepard's end of the comm was accompanied by Jack threatening to throw their assailants like toys as well as to make them fly.

"Jason and I were captured in Dark Star by an old… colleague of his. When I woke up from the sedation, he was nowhere in sight. I don't know where he's being kept." A hint of guilt was present in her last statement – she wish she did.

"Continue searching. Jack and I are on the upper level so you three should carry on searching down there." Shepard communicated to the teammates outside, "Garrus, Grunt, keep drawing the mercs out of the base."

* * *

><p>"Where's Operative Roa't?" Aela questioned the nearest technician, a petite female monitoring the project's vitals as her other coworkers hastily entered data on their holo-screens.<p>

"He left the base, ma'am. Said you can take care of things here."

"Bastard." Slamming her blue fist against the wall, startling a few of the techies, she pulled her shotgun off the back of her armor, where the weapons holder was placed for effortless retrieval. "Left me to do his job." She jogged out the observation room, though not before dictating nearby troopers to defend it. Moving down to the end of the corridor, she was admitted into what would be another hallway – she grinned maliciously once she realized that the area she entered was in the midst of combat, hearing shouts from the other end of it. "Oh, well. More fun for me."

* * *

><p>"Jacob!" Miranda alerted her squadmate, provoking him to drop down, as she flung her arms forward, biotically hurling an explosive canister at a horde of looming Blue Suns. Vaulting from her cover, she progressed towards the end of the hallway, dispatching any merc inane enough to cross her path. Recognizing the asari liable for her captivity and Jason's absence, she aimed her gun, shooting one clip after the other, as she deliberately missed the critical points.<p>

Even with the existence of her armor and shields to safeguard her from most of the shots, a number managed to clip through her defense, the force impelled her onto the ground. Aela groaned from her raw injuries as she raised her M-23 Katana at the approaching brunette – the shotgun propelled out of her grasp as the woman's salarian companion fired at her hand, she grimaced, "Fuck!"

"Where is Jason?" The Cerberus operative placed her heel on the asari's sternum, pressing down with every word she uttered for emphasis.

Jacob observed the XO, astonished by her aberrant rashness. "Miranda…"

"Let me ask again. Where is he?" She repeated.

The asari's upper lip curled back into a snarl, "You're too late to save your boy toy. He's gone." Aela relished the aggravation manifesting on the dark-haired woman.

Right as Miranda was about to pull her heavy pistol's trigger, screams erupted from the door at the end of the hall. She pulled her Shuriken away from the asari's head, holding it on standby at her flank; as she proceeded towards the end of the corridor, she heard a single shot fired from behind her. Aela was taken care of.

"Proceed with caution." The salarian counseled once he caught up with them. "Unknown amount of enemies beyond the door."

* * *

><p><em>Where…? <em>He groaned, the sides of his head felt raw as his eyes adjusted to the glaring brightness enhanced by the white everything of the room. The simple act of lifting his head caused his neck to ache and his mind to dizzy; across from him on the opposing side of the room he discerned was a mirror. It usurped the majority of the opposite wall, an image of a restrained man was exhibited on it. _Wait… what the-?_ He struggled to move, but his arms and legs were pinned against the wall – wincing, he distinguished the discoloring on his wrists and ankles where the steel bound him. He glanced at the reflection once more; the man shown had pallid skin amplified by the room's lighting and it contrasted with the black shirt he wore, dull grey eyes that more than implied his fatigue, and flattened hair, damp from cold sweat. _How… here?_

Beside the mirror, a hidden door hissed as it separated open, admitting a troop of comparably armored individuals with their weapons drawn – fear was perceptible in his eyes at the sight of them – though quickly they undirected it from him. The blue armor-covered entity entered something into the orange hologram that materialized around their arm. _Omni-tool_, he recalled the term. His restraints released him, his body slumping forward from the sudden reliance on his own legs. Slight faintness temporarily overcame him when he stood up. _Too fast._ The pressure against his head eased to some extent once he steadied himself, but it was extant nonetheless, filling most of the space in his mind with faded pain and the occasional hammering.

"Agent Sterling, it's best to come willingly." A soldier requested.

_Blue Suns_, the words came into mind as he eyed the armor's color. The head of the troop pointed an M-8 Avenger assault rifle at him, suddenly unpleasant from the absence of an obliging reply - his unit followed in suit. From his peripherals, cobalt blue radiated off of him; it was on impulse that he rushed at them, head-on. His body proceeded on its own accord - his arms flung forward. Hostiles propelled through the air away from him, some hit the mirror, breaking through it, others hit the wall. All were knocked out by the force.

No longer projecting a biotic glow, he stood there in awe at the destruction that he brought about. Blue Suns mercs were strewn all over the path in front of him, unmoving. The broken two-way glass exposed some type of observation room, abandoned terminals visible from where he stood in the white space.

The sound of the door commencing to unlock from the other half of the one-way mirror obtained his focus as he waited for the door to part and allow identities of his latest visitors to be revealed.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Don't be shy! Review, please! I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Feel free to PM as well if you have any questions about the story.

Also, due to my lack of knowledge about Anhur, I made it a bit like Pragia in terms of its plant life and what not.


	5. Chapter Five

I don't think I'll be continuing to write this. I've been incredibly busy and writer's block.  
>Note:I do not own the Mass Effect franchise.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Five<strong>_

"Jason?" Miranda called out, her submachine gun pointed at the ground in front of her, as she stepped further into the room. Following the trail of broken glass and motionless bodies of Blue Suns mercenaries that littered the floor, her cool-sapphire eyes met weary grey-blues past the window frame where several fragmented pieces of glass were still attached – relief overcame her at the sight of the man, causing her to inadvertently breathe out, "You're okay."

Taking notice of the number of terminals appropriating the space, the salarian squadmate set out to examine the databanks for any valuable information while his companions proceeded into the adjoining chamber.

"What happened here, Sterling?" Jacob asked, glass crunching under his feet as he made his way to the Vanguard. He squinted once he entered the room. "Damn. It's bright in here."

Miranda followed after him, blinking a few times for her eyes to adapt to the unpleasant whiteness of the room. Her chest tightened a bit, guilt seeping into her, as she noted the man's condition – the pallor of his skin, the muted shade of his normally coffee-colored hair, and the bruising on his wrists and probably ankles as well as she viewed the restraints on the wall behind him.

Jason viewed them blankly – the strangers held their weapons at their side while one spoke to him as if they were acquainted. _Who are the- _An unexpected wave of pain overcame his mind as he clutched his head, an attempt to keep his mind together as countless memories flooded back all at once, prompting him to stumble a step forward before someone managed to steady him.

* * *

><p>Immediately after picking up a thermal clip off the ground, Jack used it to reload her shotgun. "We scoped out this entire level, Shep. He's not here." She watched the N7 armor-covered man rummage through some crates for something – possibly, some heavy weapon ammo – as she leaned against a wall, idly poking the body of a nearby merc with the butt of her weapon.<p>

"Fuck," The commander cursed, hastily rearing away from the container he had been rifling through a second earlier. "Bomb." He watched helplessly as the timer activated. "And I may have somehow triggered it."

"What?" The convict yelled, joining Shepard out of the room running. "Damn it, Shepard. How long do we have?"

"Less than five minutes."

* * *

><p>Jason shook his head to clear away the ache that remained after the succinct, yet uncomfortable regaining of his memories – nevertheless, his present situation was now more comprehensible than it had been seconds earlier. <em>The trial mission for the Illusive Man, the trap the Broker had planned for me…<em> There was a brief moment of silence as he recalled everything that had transpired before becoming conscious of present reliance on someone for support. He gave an easy smile to the XO, "Sorry about that, I'm fine now."

Before Miranda could nod to show that it was no matter at all, she heard the commander's voice question them from her ear comm, "Did you guys find Jason?"

"Yeah, we found him." Jacob responded summarily, pondering on what had possibly caused the Vanguard's sudden distress a minute earlier.

"Great. Well, get out of the base. There's a bomb, and we have less than five minutes to evacuate."

* * *

><p>As a result of being caught in the edge of the blast radius, the Kodiak shook to some extent before Garrus entered the appropriate commands to level the shuttle whilst he piloted it back to the Normandy.<p>

"Shit. If I had died, I would've haunted you, Shepard." The shaved-headed woman growled as she did the closest thing to relaxing into her stiff seat. She loathed the 'combat cockroach' as Shepard had so fondly called it; it was hardly bearable as it was with the customary ground team of three – sitting next to an overgrown krogan and the always-serious Cerberus operative was certainly doing wonders for her budding dislike towards the confined shuttle.

The commander chuckled as he followed her in suit, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his seat. Realizing that he still had not queried for the specifics as to how his XO and the Vanguard had landed in the custody of the Blue Suns, he commenced to do so before he took in the weariness on the two of his squadmates – he settled on holding a meeting with the duo in Communications once they returned to the Normandy, allowing them sufficient time to recuperate on the way back.

* * *

><p>"Let me get this straight." Shepard stopped for a second to gather his thoughts, finding the explanation he was given rather difficult to believe. "You," He glanced at the civilian attire the taller of the two sported. "You received an invitation to the party at Dark Star and asked Miranda to accompany you," He paused, turning to the XO with skepticism apparent on his face. "As a date?"<p>

"Is it _that_ hard to believe?" Jason gave the commander a slighted expression before looking at the dusky-haired woman beside him, hoping she would go along with the story. "I thought it was going pretty well too. Until we were ambushed by the Broker's agents, that is."

"It was more of friendly outing." Miranda corrected, nonetheless reinforcing their cover for the Vanguard's trial mission to Shepard – her self-reproach for her inability to react fittingly at Dark Star was gone with her disapproval towards the lie Sterling attempted to weave taking its place. "I wanted to finish a few reports before I joined him at the lounge, so he went ahead."

"Then you were ambushed by the Shadow Broker's agents?" The commander shook his head before presenting a look that told both squadmates that he was not going to yield his questioning until he got the truth. "It _is_ hard to believe, to be honest."

"Shepard, I-"

The holograph of the Normandy disappeared from display above the conference table as several screens materialized in its stead. The same clip played on all of them, differing only by the angle which it was taken in – each showed a certain ship's XO in the embrace of the same dark-haired man presently standing alongside her, reacting ardently to the kiss he initiated, before each video abruptly went static.

Joker's voice filled the room – the smirk he wore was unmistakable as he stated over the intercom, "Look what I found, Commander."

"Mr. Moreau," Miranda practically hissed, venom palpable in her voice. "I'm sure you are aware of the things I'm capable of as a biotic. I will not hesitate to use them if I find that you have shown this video to others, posted it on the extranet, and any of the like." Her embarrassed rage manifested on her face, reddening as she struggled with her anger for control as the video commenced to play on a loop.

"That's enough, Joker." Shepard ordered – the ship's holograph promptly replaced the videos of his squadmates' kiss which had tormented the characteristically impersonal Cerberus operative whom left the room, possibly off to murder the Normandy's pilot. His mind was perplexed with where the Vanguard had found his audacity to manage such a feat, "You're a brave guy, Sterling."

Jason shrugged, an indistinct smirk manifesting on his face, "I should go see if she needs help killing Joker." With a casual salute, he departed the Comm Room.

* * *

><p>"Shepard," Mordin halted the commander en route to his quarters; despite the late hour, the salarian was still up and about since their return from the retrieval mission on Anhur. "Need to speak with you." He continued as Shepard came closer to the work table the professor typically stood behind. "Retrieved files from Blue Suns base. Most curious."<p>

"What is it?"

"Project involving decades of DNA modification – all leading to single genetic derivative. Comparable to Okeer's work. Tank-bred. Ideal human specimen."

Shepard frowned as the information sunk in. "What? It sounds like you're talking to Miranda. I mean her father did modify her genetics."

"Connection likely. Conversely, associated with Shadow Broker. Project dated further back than Operative Lawson's birth. Yet, actual test subject created after." The professor animatedly disclosed his findings, his hands making wild gestures as he did so. "Designed to be the perfect operative. Puppet for the Shadow Broker to control."

"Why do I have a feeling that you're going to say 'but?'" The commander queried, his brow raising as he viewed the salarian's pithy nod.

"Goal to produce mindless tool for executing Broker's demands. Development of emotions in Subject Alpha led to failure of project." Mordin explained – his disapproval for the rash testing of a creature's life merged with his awe of the project's results. "Abduction meant to correct irregularity in Subject Alpha's protein sequence. Aborted last minute with reason unspecified."

Shepard's brows furrowed as he grasped what Mordin was saying, "Jason's a clone? Of who?"

"Uncertain. Dispatched enemy of Shadow Broker, maybe? Desired proof of domination combined with boredom led to project. Best to have full examination. Implanted control chip, highly possible."

"I'll tell Jason to head over to the Med Bay as soon as possible, then."


End file.
